• by Larissa Faw , September 7, 2016

Southwest and its agency GSD&M are reintroducing the airline's "Wanna Get Away" tagline after nine years as part of an integrated marketing campaign that includes TV, digital, social, print, OOH, in-airport, and a promotional contest. 

"When you hear ‘Wanna Get Away,’ you think of Southwest Airlines," stated Lara Bridger, group creative director, GSD&M. "It’s an idea with a ton of brand equity. Southwest is bringing it back, but honestly, most people will think it never left. It has remained the name of Southwest’s lowest fare since the campaign first aired, and people naturally associate it with low fares that let you say, ‘Yes,’ to travel.”

The new campaign includes a partnership with Homeaway that features the #WannaGetAwayIsland contest. It invites people to submit embarrassing moments on social media for a chance to win a dream vacation to an island near Belize. 

Southwest will also brand “Wanna Get Away” moments through a partnership with CBS Sports and its NFL football coverage during the 2016-17 season. The network’s sportscasters will highlight these moments live during pre-game programming twice a month in September, October and January.

One ad, called “Secret Identity,” underscores the campaign's wanting to get away theme with a parody of a live news show where an anonymous source’s identity is accidentally revealed by someone delivering coffee and turning on the lights.

“’Wanna Get Away’ was created in a time when social media basically didn’t exist, but it’s an incredibly social idea," stated Bridger. "So we absolutely wanted to take advantage of that today by encouraging people to share their ‘Wanna Get Away’ moments. We’re also looking to explore the various ways, places and times that embarrassing moments can happen. Needing to ‘get away’ is a great human truth, so we’re bringing it to life.”